Kirkby Green Light Railway

A decade of work and no little financial outlay and Stuart Ravell’s vision is now departing platform 1.It’s the realisation of a dream for the farmer turned stationmaster, whose 10.25-inch narrow gauge railway meanders across eight acres of his Lincolnshire land.While many rail enthusiasts can only dream of such a project, Stuart had not only the technical know-how, but also the financial means – having sold his animal feed milling business in 1990. When the opportunity arose to move to Watermill Farm near Sleaford 10 years later, he and his wife Helen jumped at the chance. Not only did the farm come with 200 acres of land, but it also offered an extended garden in which he could expand his existing track layout. Hidden gem The couple set about restoring the 16th-century watermill, which produced bread flour until just after the Second World War but had since become dilapidated. “I thought it would cost £20,000 and take me about six months, but I was out by at least a factor of 10 on both,” laughed Stuart. Today, with its idyllic millpond setting, the property is a stunning family home and two of the outbuildings have been converted into fully equipped holiday cottages. Itching to get the railway off the ground, Stuart and a dozen enthusiastic volunteers started laying the first tracks even before a staircase had been installed in the main house – “Much to Helen’s disgust,” he quipped. An outer circuit around the perimeter of the garden and adjoining fields was completed in 2005. (Some of the rail had originally been used for unition trains in the First World War.) Over the following years, two inner loops were added to increase the track to 1.5 miles, complete with a three-platform station, water cranes and an 18-lever signal box, which uses a mixture of cable and compressed air hydraulic connections to control the points. In addition to skirting the millpond and going through the farmyard, the Kirkby Green Light Railway crosses a number of bridges over a stream, and negotiates a 120ft tunnel and a shady four-acre wood planted by Stuart. This hidden gem of a railway is unnoticed by most passers-by and that’s very much the way Stuart prefers it. “First and foremost it’s my hobby,” he said. “It’s a private railway, apart from four or five days in the year when we open to the public in return for a donation to local charities.“Because it’s our home I make the rules, and that means no dogs, no picnics and no smoking. It can get quite hectic – particularly the parking – and I couldn’t do without a lot of help from our volunteers.”Stuart started his model train collection back in 1985 when he obtained what he thought were remnants of three narrow gauge steam locomotives in a large potato box. Built by Southern Miniature Railways, Victory, Valliant and Vanguard had originally operated on the south coast, near Poole, as a tourist attraction in the 1940s. Handsome profit As it turned out, there were only enough parts to assemble two locos – Victory entering service in 1991 and Valliant following eventually, in 2006. But fortunately he also managed to acquire Vanguard in 2007 to complete the trio. Stuart has a total of five steam locomotives, two Diesels and a petrol-driven replica of an American Santa Fe loco. He has always had a love of all things mechanical. “The railway has taken over, but as a lad I was always tinkering with cars. When I was 12 I remember phoning dad and telling him to bring mum because I’d just bought a car. It was a 1926 Dodge and I sold it for a handsome profit.” There is always something to do on the railway, whether it’s regular maintenance or major overhauls. “At different times, it requires the skills of a surveyor, bricklayer, labourer, carriage-builder, tunnel engineer, bridge-builder and an electrician,” said Stuart. He is happiest in the Workshop fabricating parts for his latest project, to build a luxury Pullman dining car from scratch. Fully heated and lit, it will have authentic trim and tables, with seating for four. “The idea is to invite friends for a meal on the rails in the evening,” said Stuart. “One loco is fitted with a headlight and we want to put lights on the signal arms. Our volunteer drivers are enthusiastic about the idea, but will be under strict orders to slow down during the soup course!”